A new era for libraries
Tuesday July 27, 2010
Residents can now have their say on council plans to open state-of-the-art town centre libraries that replicate the hugely successful Shepherds Bush Library.
H&F Council has just released proposals that could see town centre libraries significantly improved and is asking residents for their comments.
Shepherds Bush Library at Westfield, has been so popular since it opened last year that the council proposes to use the model as a blueprint for the future of the library service itself.
The Shepherds Bush service was promoted as ‘More than a Library’ because it offers residents a variety of services under one roof and this is what the council would like to see replicated in both Hammersmith and Fulham town centres.
The library opened at Westfield in September 2009 and has been an unparalleled success in a time when across the country library usage is falling. The new ‘More than a Library’ facility also offers a large study space, an employment bureau, Wi Fi connections and public access PCs, a teenage area with computer games and chill-out space. If that is not enough, there is also a dedicated space for quiet reading and children's activities and meeting and exhibition spaces. Staff are customer focussed and wear branded uniforms and the building also features self-service terminals.
The number of new members registering has soared by 300 per cent in the first six months of opening compared to the same period at the old library and over 250,000 have already visited the building. In fact, books flew off the shelves so quickly that the council had to take the unprecedented step of placing an emergency order for 20,000 new titles!
Askew Road Library also now follows the ’More than a Library’ model and was reopened in March 2010 after the council struck an agreement with Royal Mail that saw a Post Office delivery enquiry counter opened on the premises. Since March, around 15,000 postal deliveries have been collected by residents and during its first month of opening, library membership rose by a third. Both Askew and Shepherds Bush also offer reading groups, story telling sessions and many other exciting events.
The plan to improve town centre libraries forms part of the next stage of the council’s libraries strategy. The strategy was developed following detailed consultation with residents and has resulted in a nine per cent increase in the number of visits to libraries in H&F during the last year and a 12 per cent increase in resident satisfaction.
The council intends to export this ‘More than a Library’ model to:
Hammersmith Library
The council has commenced early discussions with developers that could see Hammersmith Library move to a new site in central Hammersmith and dispose of the current building. The current Hammersmith Library is a listed building which it is difficult to adapt as a modern, accessible library. It may be possible for the current library to move to a better site in Hammersmith Broadway. This proposal will only go ahead following consultation with residents and only if a suitable site for the library in the centre of Hammersmith is secured.
Fulham Library
The council intends to spend up to £80,000 improving this busy town centre library, installing state-of-the-art technology and IT, self-service terminals and new furniture and is seeking partners to share this large building, helping to drive down costs and attract more customers. For example, adult learning classes are already delivered from the library.
The council has also announced proposals to close down Barons Court Library and relocate Sands End Library, both of which do not offer good value for money in terms of costs against usage and instead focus on state-of-the-art town centre facilities.
The relocation of Sands End and the closure of Barons Court, together with the mobile library could save the council in the region of £300,000 a year. This saving would be ploughed back into the library services and used to cut the council’s £133 million debt mountain.
And in another exciting development, the council has signed an agreement that now means that library visitors can borrow, return and reserve books at more than 200 libraries throughout the South East. This means that library users are able to access more than six million books at over 200 libraries across the South East region.
Cllr Greg Smith, Cabinet Member for Residents Services, said: “The unprecedented success of the new Shepherds Bush Library goes to show just what can be achieved by modernising library services. We are incredibly excited at the prospect of replicating that ‘More than a Library’ model at other locations across the borough.
“In the current financial climate, the days of small neighbourhood libraries, such as Barons Court and Sands End, which serve relatively small numbers of people are coming to an end. Instead, we want to move to fewer, better state-of-the-art town centre libraries that attract more customers and are more economical to operate especially where costs can be shared with other services to customers.
“The council needs to find £55 million over the next three years at the same time as we strive to cut our £133 million debt. We are currently paying £5 million on interest payments every year before a single penny goes towards services. This transformation of library services is about offering residents the best value-for-money deal possible while balancing our books. The council is prioritising people over buildings and we simply can’t afford to run these small libraries if we are serious about tackling our financial problems.”
The council proposes to close:
Barons Court Library
This is the second worst performing library in the borough, with the second lowest number of visits, visits per hour of opening and second highest costs per issue and visit. The council is considering relocating other services into the building, to enable the release of a council asset elsewhere for disposal.
The council proposes to relocate:
Sands End Library
Sands End Library is housed in the Sands End Community Centre, which is potentially up for sale as part of the council’s proposed plans to sell assets in order to pay off its debts. This is subject to consultation and consideration by the Cabinet.
This library is the least used in the borough. It issues only 13 items per hour at a cost of over £10 per loan, £4 more than at Hammersmith. Proposals to open a community hub with a library provision elsewhere in the ward are currently under discussion.
The council has carried out detailed analysis of visitor numbers at both of these libraries. Results suggest that users prefer visiting the larger town centre libraries and both buildings are within a mile of Fulham and Hammersmith libraries respectively. In addition, Sands End is only 1.7 miles from Brompton Library in Kensington & Chelsea and Barons Court is only 1.3 miles from Kensington Central Library. Analysis on the geographical distribution of users also show that Barons Court and Sands End customers overlap with users of Fulham and Hammersmith Library, indicating that users of both pairs of libraries come from the same geographical area.
Mobile Library
The council currently spends £10,500 a year on the mobile library. This equates to an incredibly poor value-for-money deal given the level of usage, with costs of £45 per issue and £25 per visit (2008/9 figures). The council proposes to cancel this service. Customers close to the current mobile library stop are only 1mile from Askew Road and 1.2miles from Shepherds Bush Library. Customers who are unable to travel to a library will be eligible for the housebound service which delivers books to the homes of over 150 disabled or elderly residents in the borough already.
Cllr Smith said: “It is abundantly clear that libraries which offer a large selection of stock, a wider range of services and are located in town centres with good transport and retail links provide better value-for-money and represent the future for our library service. Customers have voted with their feet at Shepherds Bush and Askew and our proposals will ensure that we can build on the success of our ‘More than a Library brand’ while at the same time servicing our debt. This is all about delivering more for less.”
New dawn for Old Shepherds Bush Library
The old building, on Uxbridge Road closed in 2009, ahead of the new building opening at Westfield. The council is currently in discussions with the Bush Theatre in a deal that could see the theatre group move into the premises.
Cllr Smith concluded: “We have made it our top priority to pay off our £133m debt mountain over time. Reducing that debt means we need to consider selling assets that do not currently provide value-for-money. This new way forward for libraries in the borough is about using buildings more effectively and focusing on services rather than bricks and mortar. This is an exciting time for libraries in H&F and we look forward to hearing what people think.”
You can have your say by visiting Library Strategy Consultation» .
You can also learn more by attending one of the following library open day events:
Tuesday August 24, 14.00-19.00, Hammersmith Library
Thursday September 2, 14.00 - 19.00, Fulham Library
Tuesday September 7, 14.00 - 19.00, Shepherds Bush Library
